O’NEILL: LET’S SEIZE THE DAY

an achievement it would be if he could lead Northern Ireland to a major tournament at the expense of one of Europe’s powerhouse nations.

“If we could qualify out of a group with Germany and Holland, you tell me where that ranks,” said O’Neill.

“Let’s be honest, we’re playing two teams in the second half of the campaign that have ambitions to win next summer’s Euro 2020 finals, never mind qualify.

“But I do think the players have to see this an opportunity, not a case of

‘oh, we’re playing Germany, we’re playing Holland’.”

O’Neill, who led Northern

Ireland to the knockout stages of

Euro 2016, accepts it will be a massive ask against the Germans who have never lost back-to-back qualifiers.

He said: “The likes of Jamal Lewis (top), George Saville (below) and Paddy McNair (inset) who have been excellent, they’re going to have to play above themselves.

“They’re going to have to raise their game and possibly go to an international level they haven’t reached before, but that’s the challenge and exciting bit about it.

“The exciting bit is to believe they can do it.”

With Mats Hummels, Thomas Muller and Mesut Ozil no longer part of Low’s set-up, it will be a much changed Germany to the one Northern Ireland have faced in recent years.

Die Mannschaft won 1-0 at Euro 2016 in Paris and also secured two wins, including a 3-1 victory in Belfast in 2017, in the last World Cup qualifying campaign.

“It will be a very different Germany team than we’ve played in our previous three encounters, but they can still pick a very strong squad,” said O’Neill.

“We’ll have to go with a tactical game plan and try to play as much as possible on the front foot.”